after nearly an hour of tedious inspection from lee before he deemed the cabin acceptable for whatever surprise inspection chiron might spring on them, the apollo cabin was on the move.

coraline didn't talk to her siblings much, perhaps that was due to her introverted nature. It wasn't because they didn't get along, but Coraline always suspected her mother assaulting their father would be a reason. Lee was the only one that felt like her real brother, to everyone else she felt awkward and shy. She wanted to follow Lee's guidance, and be more confident this summer so she was ready to fill his shoes by the end of August.

To top it off, she didn't have the token sunny blonde hair, or the warm brown eyes that many associated with the god apollo. Instead, she had temperamental wavy brown hair that refused to dry nicely and watery blue eyes that were soft and striking in colour, like sea glass. she didn't resemble any of her siblings, and it made her stand out like a sore thumb.

the procession was a tradition that had been carried out for decades, with the longest ranking camper of a cabin at the front to the shortest at the end. lee led the line, though technically coraline had been claimed and living at camp half blood a lot longer than him. It was weird to think how this would all change next year, but Coraline wanted to enjoy being in the moments where she was invisible and stress free, second place allowed her that luxury

dinner was always a quiet meal for coraline, she sometimes talked to her more recently claimed siblings, but other that she kept to herself. It was tiring to constantly keep up with the peppy attitude that clung to half of her siblings, and coraline's social battery couldn't sustain itself that long.

Micheal Yew in particular, never really got on with Coraline. He was the same age as her, and chose to only summer at camp whilst spending the winters in lavish resorts which he loved to tell everyone about. He was desperate to be camp counsellor, he believed he was the best demigod. Coraline didn't like his ego, it reminded her of their father. Apollo was known for ending up in bad situations because of his prideful ego, she hoped her siblings would remember they couldn't afford to be so cocky ; they weren't immortal unlike him.

a young boy, around eleven or twelve, plopped down on the bench opposite her. he had white blonde curly hair and blue eyes filled with wonder, the kind of poster child the apollo cabin advertised. not that coraline was bitter, of course.he seemed in awe of everything, commanding his goblet to change into whatever drink he wanted multiple times. coraline was worried the poor drink was going to start smouldering from the strain of meeting his needs.

"i'm william!" he grinned, extending a nimble hand over the table towards coraline. coraline blinked at the boy's bold move (a concept she was very foreign to) before shaking his hand lightly.his hands were soft and small with long articulated fingers, the kind that were good with needles. "coraline," she gave him what she hoped was a polite smile.

william took a sip from his cup and coraline almost laughed out loud at his small brown moustache from whatever was in his goblet. instead, she smiled slightly and said "hey uh, you've got a little- yeah you've got it!" she nodded when he wiped off the gunk with the hem of his sleeve. a dryad placed two plates of delicious (and conveniently healthy) barbecue chicken with salad.

coraline quietly thanked her and stood up, earning a look of not so discreet confusion from william. "come on," she nodded her head in the direction of the flaming brazier. he scrambled to his feet, and coraline noticed how small and reedy he was. yep, this guy was going to be a hit with the rest of the cabin.

he followed her like a lost duckling through the crowd, where coraline joined the back of some sort of line. campers scraped what they deemed the "best" part of the meal into the fire. these were offerings to the gods, and coraline hated them.

when it was her turn, she scraped a fat thigh of chicken into the fire and watched as the flames swallowed it whole.

let me see the world i want to see something other than camp before i die of boredom

Coraline often neglected to say please and thank you to the gods, just as they neglected their children. The smoke that wafted from her sacrificial offering smelt like medical wipes, freshly cut grass and sandalwood, the clinical aroma caused her to sour at the scent. coraline didn't need the painful reminder of her fathers carelessness.

"where are you from?" william asked, attacking his mountain of chicken. Coraline laughed dryly, what was she supposed to say? "i'm from camp half blood, my mother left me here when i was a baby" it was half of the truth, william didn't need to know her mother birthed her in a prison deeper than the Mariana trench. "that's cool! i bet you know everything about this place! what's the best activity?"

"ooh i think it depen-"

"is it true the saytrs have a black market for, like, tech and food and stuff?"

"who told you tha-"

"why do i have to sit at the cabins table? is it because im new? why are you sat here?"

"im an apollo kid too" Coraline snipped

"oh sorry, i didn't-"

"it's okay kid, i get it" she managed a weak smile, maybe he genuinely didn't know camp rules. But maybe he was confirming what she felt; she didn't fit in anywhere.

the rest of the meal went smoothly, coraline answered williams questions as best as she could. her tone became quickly bored - her hopes of him wearing himself out became less and less likely.

by the end of the meal, coraline's oversized navy hoodie felt heavy in her shoulders and her necklace felt like a noose waiting to be tightened. she wanted nothing more than to have a nice cup of herbal tea and slip under her warm duvets ready for bed.

the sing along that night was especially painful for coraline. her voice was dry and strained, then soft - too soft. she was consistently off key from the moment her half sister strummed her obnoxiously yellow hand painted ukulele. even standing at the back of the ensemble didnt stop her from feeling everyones eyes on her.

Coraline wasn't a bad singer, she just didn't do well in ensembles. Everyone had different styles and voices which sometimes didn't mesh well. That's why she preferred her violin, she could learn and play the music to the point of perfection, but her voice couldn't be trained in the same way.

She faltered at a higher note, and again at a lower one. Sweat dripped down the nape of her neck, the bodies around her were too warm. everything was too warm.

her senses imploded into overdrive, and she could see musical notes dancing in the air, pulsating and working around the fire in a clockwork motion. the air seemed to lose all oxygen, coralines throat closed shut, her head throbbing, throbbing, throbbing. the dancing didn't stop, the music didn't stop.the shadows stretched, coraline could feel her soul body and mind separating.

then, silence. The song was over, the notes were gone, the shadows receded, everything dulled and coraline felt more concrete in her own body.

for the third time this week, coraline had succumbed to whatever was haunting her, and temporarily been able to see sounds and hear colours. Her heart rate had slowly turned back to normal as the next, more gospel like song started. She couldnt afford to keep giving in, she had to build a wall around her. a dam, strong enough to hold giants with no seams or cracks, high walls and boundless sides.

Its funny really, how her strange powers had started. it was a calm spring morning that year , and coraline had decided to spend some time reading. it had been peaceful, the tree she was leant against had the perfect balance of shade and sun and her view of the strawberry fields was excellent for people watching. she had been reading wuthering hights by emily brontë for the 10th time, her paperback cover was falling off of its binded pages and half of the book had water damage and the occasional coffee stain. marley had always asked why she never bought new ones, as satyrs often took bribes of recycled delicacies to pick up packages from the nearest town. but coraline cherished her collection, each book had been a gift or she had found in a moment of serendipity. she refused to buy new ones, it would ruin what she believed.

marley had an old portable cd player they had found off the beach last year, and with a quick favour from percy jackson the water damage was gone and it was good as new and old cds coraline had found in her cabins closet were playing out of the plastic speakers.

"don't go chasing water falls.." coraline bopped her head slightly as she read over her favourite line, that had been emphasised by a luminous highlighter. "i know you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all..all...all." coraline faltered at the unfamiliar repetition, her head buzzed, vision blurred. she dropped her book, neglecting her book mark adorned with orcas and starfish. a ringing in her ears had grown louder and louder, and her eyes started seeing things that shouldn't be possible. a bird calling to another, and green stream of light wafted through the air like a flurry of glitter . the saytrs talking, yellow dust sparked around them. even the wind carried a distinct colour as it whipped around camp in an early spring flurry. the camp was a kaleidoscopic crescendo of colour and sound and it was crashing down on coraline.

her breath shortened as all of coralines senses were pushed to the edge, what was wrong with her? she tried to think, pushing past her splitting headache, which caused her eyes to go blind with an oversaturation of colour. she couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, she couldn't speak. coraline was rendered helpless as she watched the colours grow and grow. "don't go chasing waterfalls..." coraline took her first breath, the tinny music pulling her down from wherever her mind had wondered. she could see what should be there, the view as familar as the contours of her duvet covers.

AN

hii angels 👼 how are we alllll, litro been years im so sorry omg, this chapter has been sat collecting dust for years too i was just too embarrassed to publish - but im procrastinating my personal statement so ive decided to just publish as much as i can LMAO

let me know what you think and where you think it will go! you are loved 💗